Our Mission
The Northwest Community Bail Fund (NCBF) aims to abolish cash bail and pretrial detention.
We reduce the harm caused by the cash bail system by posting bail, at no cost, for community members who cannot otherwise afford it, providing them with the opportunity to defend themselves from a position of freedom. NCBF prioritizes bail assistance for our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, particularly transgender, community members: those at greatest risk in our current criminal punishment system.
Why Bail Reform?
The Problem: Bail isn’t working
Bail is supposed to accomplish one purpose–to make sure that people charged with crimes return to court. But that’s not the reality. The truth is that bail creates two systems of criminal justice in Washington: one for people who can afford bail, and one for people who can’t.
Unable to make as little as $100 bail, poor people accused of crimes in Washington State face a stark choice: stay in jail and fight the case, or plead guilty and go home. This creates a situation in which innocent people plead guilty to get out of jail because they can’t afford to pay the bail.
why Bail isn’t working?
Bail is a primary driver of mass incarceration, wastes public funds, and intensifies the racial and economic inequalities existing in our communities.
Even if pleading guilty gets someone out of jail, serious damage has been done. Pleading guilty gives people a criminal record, which seriously hinders job prospects, the ability to get a loan, and access to housing. Others face the loss of custody of their children, crushing legal debt, or even deportation.
When people are charged with crimes and can’t get out on bail, they are stuck in a cycle. By allowing people to defend themselves from a position of freedom, it increases their chances of keeping their job, housing, and children.
Our Values
Abolition
We work toward the complete abolition of the carceral system, recognizing that prisons, policing, and surveillance do not create safety but instead uphold racial and economic violence. Decarceration and non-reformist strategies are central to our work, as we push for accountability rooted in transformative and restorative justice- not punishment.
We are an anti-racist organization committed to dismantling white supremacy and all forms of systemic oppression that criminalize and punish Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities. This means rejecting poverty, capitalism, surveillance, and incarceration as tools of racial and social control while advancing non-reformist, transformative justice solutions that build true safety and equity.
Accountability
We believe in accountability that is transparent, community-led, and does not rely on the state’s punitive systems. Instead of incarceration, we uphold practices of transformative and restorative justice that repair harm, center impacted people, and foster collective healing and responsibility.
Collective Liberation
We stand in solidarity with all struggles against oppression, knowing that none of us are free until all of us are free. Our work is deeply invested in communities, driven by mutual aid, collaboration, inclusivity, and community-led solutions that build power and lasting liberation.
Human-Centered, People First
We center the agency, dignity, and well-being of people directly impacted by the carceral system, recognizing their right to self-determination. Our trauma-informed, harm-reduction approach acknowledges systemic harm while prioritizing care, support, and real pathways to healing.